Legal recreational cannabis has been an economic boon for Trinidad and many other small towns across Colorado’s southern border.

But New Mexico’s recent legalization of recreational cannabis could force dispensaries in the region to adapt to shifting demand as operators in New Mexico begin setting up shop and adopting similar strategies.

Kim Schultz remembers what Trinidad was like before cannabis took over. When she moved to the area in 2003, the city was in a boom-and-bust economic cycle as such important industries as coal and natural gas closed up shop.

Left in their wake were high unemployment rates, a declining population and vacant buildings throughout downtown.

“We had a huge attrition out of here of professional people and skilled workers,” Schultz said.

But when Colorado legalized recreational cannabis in 2014, Trinidad – 15 miles from the New Mexico border on a heavily trafficked interstate – became a hot spot seemingly overnight.

Investors suddenly began speculating on buildings that had been abandoned for years and various cannabis businesses began popping up around town.

Today, the town of nearly 9,000 has close to 30 dispensaries.

Schultz, who co-owns the Trinidad Higher Calling U dispensary, said the cannabis industry has been an economic boon for the region. [Read more at Albuquerque Journal]